- 6 weeks ago
In an era of big-money transfers, how does one club inspire lifelong loyalty? Journey to Bilbao to uncover the secrets of Athletic Club, whose Basque-only policy has forged a unique identity and a succession of homegrown legends who choose passion over paychecks.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:02The connection that you have as a team and a club with the fans.
00:07The connection that we have with our fans is a brutal thing.
00:11I've been in San Mames.
00:19You have to live it to know what it is.
00:22In the summer of 2025, after much speculation,
00:25Nico Williams turned down a big money move to sign a brand new 10-year deal at his boyhood club.
00:33It's the ultimate proof of concept for the club's basket-only player policy,
00:37where from the academy to the first team, the training pitch to the hallow turf of San Mames,
00:42the importance of Athletic Club is woven into the players' DNA at every level.
00:47So how do the club create this ethos of player loyalty?
00:50What part do the city, the fans, even the wider Basque region have to play in it?
00:54And how has it kept them competitive at the top level for their entire history?
00:59Welcome to Football Explored.
01:01This time we're in Bilbao where Athletic Club have forged a bond that money can't break
01:05to produce the most loyal players in world football.
01:33For many, the chance to join one of Europe's elite would be impossible to turn down.
01:38So the Nico Williams decision did raise a few eyebrows.
01:41But in all honesty, it shouldn't happen.
01:43Generation after generation of players have done the same thing.
01:46Nico Williams wasn't the first and he won't be the last.
01:51In the Athletic, there's a chain, there's a succession of captains,
01:55of players, of icons that decided to stay there.
01:58I'm from 1991, so my first great reference in that sense is Julen Guerrero.
02:06Julen Guerrero is a clear case.
02:08There were many elements that made him such an interesting player.
02:11He was a really popular player.
02:13He got an attention that was Beckham before Beckham,
02:15or the closest to Beckham that he ever had.
02:18He's this blonde guy, handsome.
02:20He was an icon in Spain.
02:22Teenagers would put his picture in their notebooks and stuff.
02:27When he had offers from Real Madrid,
02:30from great Italy teams,
02:31that the series at that time was a great, great league,
02:34Julen decided to stay.
02:35Obviously, as in the case of Nico Williams,
02:38there was a contract offer at the height of Julen Guerrero's quality.
02:41When he decided to stay in Athletic,
02:43he became an instant sim,
02:45and he still remembers to the day.
02:54But the great reference here is José Ángel Iribar,
02:58the player that marked a very long and successful time,
03:02and today he continues to be connected to the club,
03:04as an ambassador,
03:05and he's very present in all acts.
03:06They become one of the most beloved players in Bilbao,
03:11and they are icons.
03:15The same thing goes for Oscar de Marcos,
03:18current number one Unai Simon,
03:20and Nico Williams are with a brother in Iñaki.
03:23This then begs the question,
03:24why do they stick around?
03:25Long contracts, good money,
03:27top-level European football
03:28are something that loads of clubs can offer.
03:30What is it with Athletic Club,
03:32and where does this culture of loyalty begin?
03:36There's a phrase in euskera,
03:38which is
03:39Euskaldun en verbie,
03:41notaris oaren firmie.
03:44It comes to be something like,
03:46that the Basque word is as important
03:49or as reliable as the firm of a notary.
03:52This comes from behind,
03:53and we want to think that it's for something.
03:58You could say it starts here,
04:01at Lizarma,
04:01where the academy and training facilities
04:03that host every single team
04:05from the 11-year-olds to the first team,
04:07train side by side.
04:10When you get to be a junior,
04:12I think it's the moment
04:13that you have to take your classes seriously.
04:17There's a lot of proximity
04:18between the first player,
04:20the first player,
04:22or the third player.
04:24Whilst many players do begin their footballing journeys here,
04:28others often join the club having played
04:29for smaller local teams across the Basque region
04:32from younger ages.
04:33There's a whole scouting network set up
04:35to find every single potential diamond that they can.
04:39There is no other option.
04:40La cantera is actually the Spanish word
04:43for the youth academies in general,
04:46not only here in Bilbao.
04:48The policy is actually that only players
04:50born in the Basque country
04:51or educated in terms of football here
04:53call out to play.
04:55It may be a bit controversial topic,
04:59but without understanding the history of the Basque country
05:01it's hard to understand the philosophy
05:04and the history of the Athletic.
05:05It's an option,
05:06a decision
05:08that has taken a very particular society
05:10that is to fight with ours,
05:13to be represented by ours,
05:15plural, different, but ours.
05:18They have 180 grassroots clubs they finance
05:21because they need to obviously
05:23because of their policy
05:25they're not allowed to get the players from anywhere.
05:28And they invest a lot of money in those grassroots clubs.
05:30Development can go well in those clubs as well
05:32because they're funded by Athletic
05:34and they do a really great job.
05:36This means that there's a common ground
05:37between each player,
05:39whether it's their commitment on the pitch,
05:41whether it's their values off the pitch.
05:43It's all easier to get through
05:44if there's a red tape that ties together
05:47their culture, their identity,
05:48and their sporting ambition.
05:51Continuamente estamos hablando
05:53de valores, de identidad.
05:55A mí me gustaría identificar
05:57al jugador o jugadora del Athletic
05:59como una persona orgullosa
06:01y al mismo tiempo humilde.
06:06I was actually recently there at Lezama
06:08with the smallest ones in the academy.
06:11They did a thing I found quite remarkable.
06:13Before their games,
06:14they took photos with rival teams.
06:16Not because the rivals want it,
06:18but because they want it.
06:20They do the photos and they hang them up.
06:21The message behind that is
06:23there's no football without your rivals.
06:25You need the rivals,
06:26you need the referees and so on.
06:28So this is like the basic message they want to send.
06:30Respect.
06:33And they also say, if you're in the academy,
06:36you may leave at some point obviously
06:38for reasons of football
06:40because you're not good enough or whatever.
06:42Within the time you've been there,
06:44you have to have become
06:45or a better player or a better person.
06:48Or both things,
06:49which is even more important.
06:50And this is what they work towards.
06:54With so much talent nurtured for the first team,
06:57who, as we've seen, rarely leave the club,
06:59what happens when they actually do?
07:01Whether they're not at the required level
07:03or just fancy going somewhere else,
07:04what effect does it have on the incoming transfers as well?
07:09Athletic club are known for receiving huge sums
07:11in the player leagues.
07:12Their top five record sales
07:13stretched from Asia Del Orno in 2005
07:15at 12 million euros
07:16through Ander Herrera, Javi Martinez
07:18and Aymeric Laporte,
07:20all the way to Kepa Aretha Belaga
07:22at a whopping 80 million euros,
07:25giving a grand total of 253 million.
07:28Players that actually leave money
07:29are the players you don't want to leave.
07:32That's the paradox.
07:33When someone leaves,
07:34you need to give good use to the money
07:36because if not, you just feel that you lost something.
07:39Now, you'd think with this big chunk of money
07:41lying around,
07:42the club would go and spend it all
07:43or replacing the players that they just lost.
07:45But the club reinvests the money in some interesting ways
07:48alongside the dates they're running of the club.
07:51A lot of that money goes into the infrastructure.
07:54They also invest in players' wages.
07:57They offer very competitive salaries, actually.
08:00Just loyalty is not a factor.
08:02You need to activate that loyalty
08:03through a good financial position
08:05with an interesting project.
08:07And obviously you need money for that, too.
08:09That money has to be invested in
08:11canteras,
08:13in capturing networks,
08:14in Ogeo.
08:15We absolutely depend on the level
08:18of the football level
08:19that there is in the Basque country.
08:22And we know,
08:22as well,
08:23that if the level,
08:24specifically in Vizcaya,
08:26in our convenient clubs,
08:27is greater,
08:28it's easier for us to access
08:30to those potential players.
08:33So after taking all of this into account,
08:36the one big question still remains.
08:38Does it actually work?
08:39Does this club policy in places 1912
08:42allow the club not only to remain
08:44but to compete at the top of Spanish and European football?
08:47In short, yes.
08:49And the evidence for this is overwhelming.
08:51And I always like being with ج Renegade
09:02after what does it happen
09:04all over the world
09:04for the family?
09:05it feels incredible.
09:06It's incredible.
09:07It is the address of the league
09:07most blev totally next razed.
09:09My friends,
09:09my family,
09:10in the deepening,
09:11while I've got to wait
09:12with white shirts,
09:13gold shirts
09:13and white people
09:15are perfect.
09:17For me it was exciting.
09:19Since La Liga's inception in 1929, they are one of only three clubs, the other two being
09:25Barcelona and Real Madrid, who have never been relegated. Eight La Liga titles, three Spanish
09:30Super Cups and an incredible 24 Copa del Rey victories, the latest of which in 2024 brought
09:37about one of the biggest celebrations the city has seen in recent years as they ended a 40-year
09:42weight for a major trophy.
09:48The victory in 2024 in the Copa, I don't know, it was peace.
09:55After the game, there was a lot more relief and peace than euphoria, which is something
10:00incredible after 40 years.
10:01It was an explosion for the whole region. You haven't seen that ship. You know the ship
10:07Gavarra, they celebrate their victories under the titles on a ship that goes down an air
10:12beyond river.
10:12La Gavarra es como se llama ese tipo de barca que se utilizaba para transportar por la ría
10:18material cuando todo esto era una zona muy industrial. Entonces era algo bastante presente
10:23en el día a día de la sociedad vizcaína.
10:26La alegría este es bordante. ¿De dónde ha salido tanta gente? Las radios hablan de centenares
10:34de miles, medio millón, de un millón de personas que esperan aplaudir hoy al equipo
10:39campeón.
10:44La última vez que celebramos títulos, en el 83, el 84, se dice, se sacó la Gavarra y
10:49los jugadores remontaron toda la ría desde el mar, subidos en la Gavarra, saludando por
10:54todos los pueblos y ciudades de Vizcaya hasta aquí, hasta Bilbao. Estuvimos 40 años con
10:59esa imagen aquí. Entonces, por eso, la Gavarra que está aquí guardada, ha estado
11:04durante muchos años, se ha seguido haciendo un mantenimiento para que pudiera flotar.
11:09Por fin, por fin. Fueron 40 años, fueron 40 años muy largos, de muchas dudas. Entonces
11:14fue una liberación.
11:30Y yo creo que para el futuro ha sido un hito muy importante porque ha dado gasolina a las
11:36nuevas generaciones.
11:42Pero en el momento en que los títulos no están en la línea, siempre hay un
11:45match que se ve más que cualquier otro.
11:49El Basque derbi contra la Real Sociedad.
11:53Y lo que hace este match interesante es que, en el piso, son rivales. Pero en el piso,
11:58tienen muchas cosas en común, incluyendo la representación de la identidad Basque.
12:04El derbi especial es muy importante y para nosotros se habla mucho de fiesta, porque
12:10el día previo en el País Vasco nos gusta comer, nos gusta beber y nos gusta juntarnos
12:14para comer y beber. Entonces, eso ocurre. Y hay familias, hay parejas, hay grupos de
12:19amigos donde hay diversidad de camisetas de la Real Sociedad, camisetas de la Atleti.
12:22Pero luego en el campo duro.
12:24Aquí hay grandes grupos de cuadrillas donde se ven un hombre con el atletico, o el otro
12:29otro.
12:30Pero más allá, esos son equipos que competen en un muy pequeño espacio.
12:35Real Sociedad realmente valen sus jugadores de la academia.
12:39Hay competencias en un mercado en un mercado para los mismos jugadores.
12:43Y eso le da a la tendencia, a la tensión.
12:47Un gran motivo de este derbi es especial.
13:03Es porque de lo que representa el de los supporters de ambos lados,
13:07como parte de una ever-changing, desarrollada Basque identificación.
13:10Los hermanos Williams son muy especiales para el club por muchos motivos.
13:26El primero de todos, y lamento que sea así, pero es el hecho de que son dos futbolistas
13:31de raza negra que juegan para el Athletic, que han nacido en Euskal Herria.
13:36Ya ha habido algún otro futbolista de raza negra anteriormente, pero los Williams han sido
13:41los más exitosos, los que durante más años han estado en la primera plantilla.
13:44Y ya solo eso fue muy rompedor.
13:47Iñaki es el primer capitán negro de la historia del Athletic.
13:51Si miras el mundo fuera, en Bilbao, en el país basque como todo, es un país de inmigración.
13:56Y son una imagen de eso.
13:58Con sus padres, que hicieron dificultad para venir aquí.
14:01Muchos jóvenes que están en la misma posición, en realidad los vengan a los islas.
14:06Así que son realmente invaluables para el club.
14:09Si miras la historia de Iñaki-Williams y la historia de la familia de Williams,
14:13creo que somos muy positivos rolmodelos.
14:16Son un ejemplo para los nuevos basques.
14:20Son un ejemplo para los hijos y hijas de los inmigrantes.
14:24Podemos ser parte de esta sociedad basque, de esta ciudad de Bilbao.
14:28Para mí no hay mejor representación, no hay representación más simbólica.
14:33Esa puerta abierta que todo el mundo tiene a Euskal Herria.
14:38Y a tener una oportunidad, a ser aceptados, a ser un hombre de nosotros.
14:43Y por qué no ser al final los chicos que meten los goles que tanta gente celebra.
14:52En el fútbol moderno, las líneas de loyaltad y identidad son muy abiertas.
14:56Y su suerte de un club de atleta existe cuando la honra de una persona
15:00colide con la ambición y la filosofía de un club de fútbol.
15:03Aquí, la loyaltad no es solo una decisión, es un honor.
15:07Para mí la TT Club es todo, es familia, es todo.
15:12Me ha dado todo a mí, tanto a mí como a mi hermano, a mi familia.
15:14Pues intentar dar todo de lo que me han dado,
15:17porque para mí lo es todo y lo damos con todo mi corazón.
15:34¡Gracias por ver el video!
15:35Oh, tienes el cat?
15:37¡Gracias!
Comments